Stuck In Thee Garage #12: November 29, 2013

For some, Black Friday is all about going out at midnight and battling demon hordes for the best shopping bargains. For me, it's all about sleeping off the mass quantities of food and drink ingested on Thanksgiving. There's bound to be some fogginess involved, and that happened with the BFF.fm computers today; Stuck In Thee Garage started about 20 minutes late, was replaced by the Robo DJ at 4 and then re-started again, but several songs were skipped and the end clipped. Which was unfortunate, but I had a whole theme going in hour 2 that had no payoff, but hey, shite happens.

Fortunately, you can listen to the show in its entirety below courtesy of the Mixcloud archive. And here's the playlist:

Hour 1
Artist - Song/Album

Paul Stanley stage banter - Alcohol/People, Let Me Get This Off My Chest
Mother Love Bone - Come Bite the Apple/Hello Hometown: Live at the Vogue, Seattle, 1/3/90
Sloan - If It Feels Good, Do It/Japan 2002 Bootleg
Superchunk - Driveway to Driveway/Clambakes Vol. 7: Shut the F*ck Up!...No, We Love You - Live at the Corner Hotel 1996
Dinosaur Jr. - In a Jar/Chocomel Daze
Shearwater - A Wake for the Minotaur/Fellow Travelers
Lee Ranaldo - Off the Wall/Between the Times and the Tides
Swearin' - Watered Down/Surfing Strange
Zeus - Are You Gonna Waste My Time?/Busting Visions
Future of the Left - I Don't Know What You Ketamine/How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident
The Monkeywrench - Great Down Here/Clean as a Broke-Dick Dog
The Dirtbombs - Wreck My Flow/We Have You Surrounded
Les Savy Fav - Sleepless in Silverlake/Root for Ruin
Thee Oh Sees - Lupine Dominus/Putrifiers II
Ty Segall - You Make the Sun Fry/Goodbye Bread
Two Gallants - My Love Won't Wait/The Bloom and the Blight

Hour 2: Songs about a dysfunctional Thanksgiving
Sly and the Family Stone - Family Affair/There's a Riot Goin' On
Royal Crescent Mob - Hungry/Spin the World
X - Soul Kitchen/Los Angeles
Blondie - Eat to the Beat/Eat to the Beat
The Pursuit of Happiness - Food/One-Sided Story
Titus Andronicus - Food Fight!/Local Business
Titus Andronicus - My Eating Disorder/Local Business
The Beatles - Savoy Truffle/The White Album
Run DMC - You Be Illin'/Raising Hell
The Afghan Whigs - Miles iz Ded/Congregation
The Replacements - Red Red Wine/Pleased to Meet Me
The Kinks - Alcohol/Muswell Hillbillies
Rollins Band - You Didn't Need/The End of Silence
Husker Du - Hardly Getting Over It/Candy Apple Grey
Ray Davies - Peace in Our Time/Working Man's Cafe
The Beatles - I'm So Tired/The White Album

 

Stuck In Thee Garage 012 by Koomdogg on Mixcloud

Completely Conspicuous 304: Freedom of Choice

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Brian Salvatore as we look back at the music of 1980. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click and "save as").


Show notes:
- Recorded via Skype
- Brian: 1980 was a much better year for music than our last choice, '87
- Jay: Was living in Toronto in '80
- Brian: Was -2 years old, but really dig the music of 1980
- Jay: New wave and post-punk really came into their own: B-52s, Talking Heads, U2, Pretenders
- Brian: Arena rock bands like Queen and Rush took different paths
- New sounds on the radio
- Brian: Guitar rock was strong with VH, Ozzy, Sabbath, AC/DC
- Poor Bob Daisley
- New Wave of British Heavy Metal: Maiden, Leppard, Motorhead all influenced thrash scene that emerged a few years later
- Worst musical moments: Wuss rock like Christopher Cross and Air Supply thrived
- Brian: Blues Brothers movie came out
- Put spotlight on music that was considered unhip at the time
- Early hip-hop in the mainstream: Kurtis Blow, Blondie's "Rapture," Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"
- The Clash were incredibly prolific: London Calling and Sandinista! both came out within less than a year
- The crumminess of Cut the Crap
- Worst musical moment: John Lennon was killed
- Other deaths included John Bonham, Bon Scott, Ian Curtis, Darby Crash
- Death of the Beatles: John killed, Paul was busted, George's album was held up, Ringo was wasted
- Led Zeppelin also broke up in 1980
- Trading hockey cards for a Rush album is uniquely Canadian
- Soundtrack of Decline of Western Civilization came out in late '80 - To be continued

Music:
Calories - DMT
Shearwater - A Wake for the Minotaur
Mark Kozelek - I Know

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Calories song is on the album Calories III. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.
The Shearwater song is on the album Fellow Travelers on Sub Pop. Download the song for free at The Current.
The Mark Kozelek song is on the compilation album You Be My Heart benefiting 826 National. Download the song for free at GLGPub.com.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian. 

Stuck In Thee Garage #11: November 22, 2013

Yesterday's episode of Stuck In Thee Garage had a little bit of everything: Hot new rock, cool older stuff, old-school funk and an hour's worth of unconventional rock anthems. One thing live listeners may not know is the last song and outro got cut off; I think the total running was 2:03 or 2:04 and there's a live show on right after mine, so they had to cut out right after the TV on the Radio song. I'll do a better job going forward of keeping the show to two hours or less.

Hey, we can't all be radio professionals like this guy:

Anyhoo, here's the playlist:

Artist - Song/Album

Calories - DMT/Calories III
Little Big League - Lindsey/These Are Good People
Idiot Genes - Regular/Lousey
Soft Focus - Runner Up/Day EP
Gary Numan - Metal/The Pleasure Principle
Wild Flag - Electric Band/Wild Flag
The Dears - Blood/Degeneration Street
Jarvis Cocker - Running the World/Jarvis
St. Vincent - Kerosene/Live at the Bowery
Future of the Left - Bread, Cheese, Bow and Arrow/How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident
Mastodon - Curl of the Burl/The Hunter
James Brown - Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine/Funk Power 1970: Brand New Thang
Cymande - Bra/Cymande
Funkadelic - Hit It and Quit It/Maggot Brain

Hour 2: Unconventional rock anthems
Talking Heads - Crosseyed and Painless/Remain in Light
Gang of Four - To Hell With Poverty!/Solid Gold
The Replacements - Bastards of Young/Tim
The Smithereens - Blood and Roses/Especially for You
Guided By Voices - Gold Star for Robot Boy/Bee Thousand
Superchunk - Skip Steps 1 and 3/No Pocky for Kitty
Smashing Pumpkins - I Am One/Gish
Radiohead - The Bends/Live at Tramps 6/1/95
Built to Spill - The Plan/Keep It Like a Secret
Spoon - The Underdog/Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict a Riot/Employment
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?/Hearts of Oak
The White Stripes - Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground/White Blood Cells
TV On the Radio - Wolf Like Me/Return to Cookie Mountain
The Walkmen - The Rat/Bows and Arrows
Listen to the episode here:




 

Stuck In Thee Garage 011 by Koomdogg on Mixcloud

The Mayor of Simpleton

It's no secret I've got a soft spot for the city of Toronto. I was born there, lived there until I was 14 and still all these years and miles later root for crappy Toronto sports teams. I've still got family and friends up there, and we just had a nice vacation up there this summer.

Which is why I've got such mixed emotions about the whole Rob Ford fiasco. If you've been living under a rock that's located underneath Aquaman's underwater lair, you're likely the only person who hasn't laughed your ass off/shaken your head at the ridiculous series of events Ford has triggered over the last year or so: Being caught on camera smoking crack, denying said video and said crack, admitting said video and said crack, being accused of sexual harassment, other drug charges, making a reference in a press conference to performing cunnilingus on his wife, bowling over a female city councilor during a meeting, getting caught on tape threatening to kill someone. And this is just the most recent stuff. It's gotten to the point where people actually refer to Ford's title as "Crack-Smoking Mayor Rob Ford." Boing Boing regularly calls Ford the Laughable Bumblefuck, which is about as accurate a description of the man as you'll find.

Naturally, Ford's become the laughingstock of the tabloids and late-night TV:



It's hard not to find this hilarious...because it is. Sure, it's sad that this buffoon is leading one of the biggest and best cities in North America, but really, are the best and brightest getting into leadership positions these days? Here in Boston, we've got Tom "Mumbles" Menino, who regularly butchers names and the English language and yet somehow has led the city of Boston for 20 years. And one can easily run off any number of presidents, politicians and other public leaders whose IQs are sub-standard. So the law of averages probably means that a dolt like Ford was due to get elected eventually.

I want the best for Toronto because I still consider it my hometown, even though I haven't lived there in more than 30 years. At the same time, I'm enjoying the hell out of this Rob Ford fiasco. I hope he gets re-elected because dammit, this shit is funny.

Completely Conspicuous 303: Mellow Yellow

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we discuss a pair of 1970s hitmakers. Listen to the episode below or download directly (right click and "save as").



Show notes:
- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ
- "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree"
- Tony Orlando and Dawn got their own variety show
- Telma Hopkins of Dawn went on to appear in several sitcoms
- Renewed popularity during Gulf War
- Actually about coming home from prison
- Was "Knock Three Times" a swingers' anthem?
- By the late '70s, Tony Orlando was forgotten
- "He Don't Love You" was another big hit
- In praise of KC and the Sunshine Band
- Tales of KC's pratfall in Vegas
- "Please Don't Go" was a major hit for KC
- "I'm Your Boogie Man" was funky, great stuff
- Learning about music as a kid in the '70s
- Young Ric saw the Sex Pistols on Howard Cosell's "Saturday Night Live"
- Good bands played on "Fridays" on ABC
- Dick Clark was a brilliant businessman, not necessarily a music lover
- Check out episode 54 of More Lost Time, remembering Charlie Chesterman
- Coming soon: Ric and Jay's video show Trust Fund Challenge
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Little Big League - Lindsey
Soft Focus - Runner Up
Idiot Genes - Regular
Wavves - Horse Shoes

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Little Big League song is on the self-released album These Are Good People. Download the song for free on Bandcamp.
The Soft Focus song is on the EP Day. Download the EP for free at Bandcamp.
The Idiot Genes song is on the album Lousey. Download the song for free at Bandcamp.
The Wavves song was released as a one-off single. Download the song for free at Epitonic.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Through the Past Dorkily: Spellbound

Editor's note: Through the Past Dorkily is a recurring feature that looks back at the embarrassingly dorky diary I kept as a 16-year-old in 1984.

Saturday, November 3, 1984

Song of the day: Night of the Blade - Tokyo Blade

Whew! What a day! Mom woke me up at 9:30, which sucked. Then we were cleaning the house, so we didn't leave till 12. Then at 1, at Montgomery Ward, we had to wait there an hour while they were making credit card checks. I went to the Musicsmith and found that live Ozzy EP with Randy Rhoads on it. I bought it right away. We finally left at 3:15 and got home at 4:30.

Later, I found out from Jeremy that there was a big accident in front of our house just after we left. Two or three people died. They had the road blocked off till 4. Geez.

[Ex-gf]'s party was pretty good. First a bunch of us played Trivial Pursuit. [Female classmate] was my partner. What a babe! I flirted with her all night. She was even sitting on my lap. After that we played charades and before I knew it, it was 11. Everybody left then. It was almost a massive pile-up in the driveway. Somehow, everybody got out unscathed.

I had to put my TV in Mom's room.

- The Barbarian

Sunday, November 4, 1984

Song of the day: Mean Streak - Deep Purple

I got up at 8:30. We went to church. [A buddy] was there. I agreed to go to the youth group next Sunday. Wednesday the 14th is when we get confirmed.

I dumped the garbage. When I got back, I found out [ex-gf] called me. She wanted me to get her bumper sticker back from [guitar dude]'s house. I told her I couldn't go today. She's pissed at him because he never called her. Good.

The rest of the day I worked on the computer. Cool!

- The Barbarian

Monday, November 5, 1984

Song of the day: Our Love - Krokus

Top 5 at Five
 1. Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
2. Girls With Guns - Tommy Shaw
3. I Can't Hold Back - Survivor
4. Jailbreak - AC/DC
5. The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
 
Not a bad day. We left on our Journalism field trip right after homeroom. Me and [buddy] got stuck with [four female classmates] in his car. You can imagine how much fun that was. It rained all day.

On the radio we heard that U2 tickets sold out in 35 minutes. Wow!

The offices of Teenage are located in a dump! The place is an old warehouse. It's all beat up and there's trash all around it. Then we talked with the magazine's editorial staff on how to improve the mag, etc. Nancy Rutter is a babe! We were there till 12, and then we went to Methuen Mall for lunch. [A buddy] got Kinks tickets at Midland. I bought a couple of rock mags. We got back to the school at 1:30. After school I took $500 out of the bank and gave it to Dad.

Later, I called [ex-gf]. I don't really know why, I just did. Just to talk. Hmm.

- The Barbarian 

Tuesday, November 6, 1984

Song of the day: I Do' Wanna Know- REO Speedwagon

Top 5 at Five
1. Elected - Alice Cooper
2. Baba O'Reilly (live) - The Who
3. Girls With Guns - Tommy Shaw
4. Understanding - Bob Seger
5. Perfect Strangers - Deep Purple

Not a bad day at all. I got a 90 on the Field Bio test. We had a sub in Adv Math. I had a nice nap in Psych. And I finally, with [a buddy]'s help, have my program about done. Good thing, too, 'cause it's due tomorrow. I just have to go in first period and iron out all the bugs and then I'm done! Finally! Thank God.

I got those 3 assignments done for Adv Math. Bargain!

I saw the new Purple album at Midland yesterday. Gotta get it.

Reagan's winning by a landslide. I coulda toldja that.

- The Barbarian

Wednesday, November 7, 1984

Song of the day: The Boys of Summer - Don Henley

Top 5 at Five
1. Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers
2. Understanding - Bob Seger
3. Jailbreak (live) - AC/DC
4. We Belong - Pat Benatar
5. Missed it

What a day! I finally picked up an Achievement test booklet. I did the Adv Math chapter test done in class, so now I did all my assignments.

Big Adv Math and Psychology tests tomorrow. I need A's on both.

I had to stay after a few minutes to get my program done. [Buddy] did the last part. But it works! I left it on [teacher's] desk. I got outta there at 2:15. Jeremy waited and looked for me and then left. I was stranded. I tried to bum a ride off someone but couldn't. I walked to the pharmacy and got a new Kingstonian. We're still in it.

I walked back to the school, bummed a dime off [French teacher] and called first Jeremy's house, then [his girlfriend's]. He just pulled in. I talked him into picking me up. Phew!

Dad got a cake at work and then went out and got sloshed. When he got home, we gave him his presents and cake, he was all happy, he fell asleep.

So much for that day.

- The Barbarian

Thursday, November 8, 1984

Song of the day: Stranger in Town - Toto

Top 5 at Five
1. Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers
2. Valotte - Julian Lennon
3. Run to You - Bryan Adams
4. The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
5. Break Down the Walls - Stone Fury

Weird day. The Adv Math test sucked! I didn't get the last question (which I knew) done before the bell rang. I also skipped no. 2 and was gonna come back to it. So much for that. Damn!

On the Psychology test, I managed to do all the questions on it. About 50% of it is BS! I hope I get an A.

I got an A- on the program. Tomorrow we have a quiz in which we have to explain the entire program. That'll be fun.

I stayed after school to meet with the Journalism kids from Raymond, but they postponed it till next Tuesday. [Buddy] gave me a ride home.

Dad said we're gonna drive to Toronto for Thanksgiving. We're leaving on the 21st. Cool.

- The Barbarian

Friday, November 9, 1984

Song of the day: Jailbreak - AC/DC

Top 5 at Five
1. Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers
2. Jailbreak -  AC/DC
3. Girls With Guns - Tommy Shaw
4. Perfect Strangers - Deep Purple
5. Run to You - Bryan Adams

Today was so-so. I got a 90 on the mouse care and a 78 on the log book. I got a 94 on the Psych test. Now the bad news: I got a 52 on the Adv Math test! I can't believe it! Everybody did bad. I brought it up to a 72 (I hope) with some extra credit questions.

As editor of the Sanborn Supplement this week, I managed to get all the stories together and off to Exeter. Man, [two classmates] don't do anything! It took them two days to type five papers! Now that's ridiculous!

Long weekend, here I come! No homework. Bargain.

I went to the mall with Jeremy [and his girlfriend] at 5:45. I got back at 7.

- The Barbarian

Saturday, November 10, 1984

Song of the day: How Many More Times - Led Zeppelin

So-so day. We went to get the storm windows and then went to Shaw's. That was fun.

That was it.

- The Barbarian

Sunday, November 11, 1984

Song of the day: Crazy Doctor - Loudness

We all slept in this morning. After I dumped the garbage, we all went to Newington to return the printer. I got a new pair of shoes: gray Nikes. Cool.

It rained like crazy all day.

At 7, we went to the youth group. It was alright. I came just in time for a humdingo fundraiser. We all took a big case of light bulbs home to sell. Great. Who am I gonna sell 'em to?

That girl [redacted] is pretty nice. I think she likes me. Then again, you never know.

I hope Rainbow Records is open tomorrow.

- The Barbarian

Monday, November 12, 1984

Song of the day: King of Twilight - Iron Maiden

Top 5 at Five
1. Perfect Strangers - Deep Purple
2. Run to You - Bryan Adams
3. Still in Saigon - Charlie Daniels Band
4. Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers
5. Concealed Weapons - J. Geils Band

I got up at 5:45 and took Mom to work. I came back and went to bed. I got up again at 10:30. The stores opened at 1, so at 1:50, me and JP went to Rainbow Records. When we left, it was sunny, when we got there it was raining. I got the new "Aces High" 12-inch. It's got an unreleased track "King of Twilight" and a live version of "Number of the Beast" on the B-side. Good Maiden metal. I got the latest Kerrang.

We got lost on the way home, but we backtracked and made it back alright.

I got 4 applications finished.

- The Barbarian

Tuesday, November 13, 1984

Song of the day: If I Had a Rocket Launcher - Bruce Cockburn

Top 5 at Five
1. Missed it
2. I Can't Hold Back - Survivor
3. Concealed Weapons - J. Geils Band
4. The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
5. Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers

Today wasn't that great. I found out some grades. 85 in Field Biology, 80 in Adv Math, an  A in Psychology. I hope I have an A in Journalism and I hope I pulled a B in Comp Sci. So much for my number one ranking.

Captain Howdy died over the weekend. We found her dead in a can outside the cage this morning. Weird. We're starting photography now.

I was talking with [yet another cute girl] today. I asked her if she went out with [a classmate] Friday. She said no. I'm toying with the possibility. I don't know.

The Sanborn Supplement is going to be an insert in the Carriage Town News in 3 weeks.

- The Barbarian

Wednesday, November 14, 1984

Song of the day: Diamond Field - Pat Benatar

Top 5 at Five
1. Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers
2. Run to You - Bryan Adams
3. We Belong - Pat Benatar
4. The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
5. Stranger in Town - Toto

Today was a bit better. I got a 90 in Psychology and a 92 in Journalism. I got an 82 on that Computers quiz.

After school, me and JP went to that confirmation meeting. [Some dude] was there, too. We talked about confirmation, Mormons and Tolkien. I couldn't believe [the reverend] knew so much about Tolkien. That was cool.

I need a woman.

- The Barbarian

Thursday, November 15, 1984

Song of the day: Spellbound - Triumph 

Top 5 at Five
1. Run to You - Bryan Adams
2. Too Late for Goodbyes - Julian Lennon
3. I Can't Hold Back - Survivor
4. Jailbreak - AC/DC
5. Call to the Heart - Giuffria

You heard me right! I heard a new Triumph song on  WAAF today, "Spellbound." It kicks, man! Great solo! Gil Moore sings lead on it. I can't wait for the album! It's supposed to be called Thunder 7, at least that's what Rob Barnett said. Awesome!

[Female classmate] is gonna give me a ride to the surprise party for [another female classmate] tomorrow. I got permission from Mom and Dad.

I'm almost done my fifth program. Bargain.

Mom's patient today was [a buddy]'s mom. Wow.

I still need a woman.

- The Barbarian

Friday, November 16, 1984

Song of the day: Word of Mouth - The Kinks

Another mixed-bag day. I got my program finished and I got an A on it. Bad news: I got my report card. I got a 74 in Computers. That gave me an 84 average, just barely making honors. That sucks!

Jeremy and me gave [three female classmates, including a super-hot one] a ride home today. When I was helping [the super-hot one] with her 3 zillion books, I saw one that had "I love Jay Kumar" scrawled on it. Could it be? Nah...

I got [birthday girl] a card from the pharmacy. She got a kick out of it. All I'll say is that it had something to do with a blimp and it had a balloon inside.

[Female classmate] picked me up at 7:15. When we got there, [birthday girl] still wasn't there. There was a bunch of people I knew. They had a humungo keg and some punch which had some lethal ingredients (champagne,vodka, tequila). I had 2 cups. [Birthday girl] was surprised. [Her boyfriend] was being a goof. I met this wicked nice girl, [redacted], a friend of [a classmate]. What a babe! I think she liked me. She's hot!

[The birthday girl's boyfriend's] house is a mess! There's cake and beer and champagne and M+Ms and God knows what else all over the place. I'm glad I don't live there!

- The Barbarian

Saturday, November 17, 1984

Song of the day: Ride the Lightning - Metallica

I got up at 11:30. Bummed around the house till 2. Then I got my hair cut. It's short but it looks cool. [Female classmate] was there.

After that, I didn't do a helluva lot.

- The Barbarian

Postscript: Man, I remember struggling with the programs we had to write in that stupid Computer Science class. If only we knew then that 30 years later nobody would even think about that basic-ass shit. But yeah, that 74 did indeed screw up my shot at valedictorian. I would end up as the salutatorian, which is the #2 student in the class by only two points. Not that it's had much of an impact on my life since then. At the time, it was a bummer, though.

Also 29 years later, I'm still editing articles and getting publications ready on deadline, so that was a glimpse into the future, I suppose. 

I couldn't find any information about Teenage magazine, but I'm pretty sure that editor I mentioned as being hot went on to a pretty good career as a reporter for Forbes and later landed $125 million in a divorce from her billionaire husband. Not too shabby.

That surprise party was probably the first real drinking party I ever went to. I'm amazed I didn't puke after drinking that death punch; it must have been pretty watered down. About 18 months later, I was getting sick from booze on the regular at UNH.

And yeah, I loved me some Triumph in those days. Stemming back to my Canadian youth and the killer guitar skills of Rik Emmett, they were one of my favorite bands. Never saw this video back in the day, but it's got all the classic '80s hard rock video tropes:

 

Stuck In Thee Garage #10: November 15, 2013

Yesterday was the first show in the new time slot (3 p.m. Eastern/Noon Pacific) and it was nice to hear from folks actually listening in live. I played some great new and old stuff in hour 1 and then delved into non-album tracks for hour 2. Lots of fun to dig through those and dust off a few things I hadn't heard in a while (and hopefully you hadn't heard, either).

And as always, Stuck In Thee Garage remains Bozo-free.

Stuck In Thee Garage 010 by Koomdogg on Mixcloud

The playlist:

Hour 1 

Artist - Song/Album

Swearin’ - Dust in the Gold Sack/Surfing Strange

Ghost Wave - Here She Comes/Ages

Divine Fits - Would That Not Be Nice/A Thing Called Divine Fits

Quasi - You Can Stay But You Got to Go/Mole City

The Julie Ruin - Oh Come On/Run Fast

Fat Creeps - Nancy Drew/Nancy Drew single

Swirlies - Jeremy Parker/Blonder Tongue Audio Baton

Velocity Girl - Audrey’s Eyes/Copacetic

The Von Bondies - Pale Bride/Love, Hate and Then There’s You

LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls/This is Happening

Kam Fong - Get Behind Me Satan/From the Bottom of the Sea

Barrence Whitfield and the Savages - Oscar Levant/Dig Thy Savage Soul

Mr. Airplane Man - C’mon DJ/C’mon DJ

Radiator Hospital - Your Boyfriend/Something Wild

Hot Snakes - Kreative Kontrol/Audit in Progress

METZ - Rats/Metz

The Stooges - No Fun/The Stooges

Hour 2: Non-album tracks 

Sloan - D is for Driver/B-Sides Win

Pearl Jam - Brother/Ten (Legacy Edition)

Nirvana - Sappy/No Alternative

Mission of Burma - Max Ernst/Signals, Calls and Marches

Aztec Camera - Jump/Aztec Camera 10”

XTC - Dear God/Skylarking

Frank Black and the Catholics - Pray for the Girls/Oddballs

Obits - Once Cross Apiece/7”

Black Mountain - Voices/Stormy High single

The Police - Fall Out/Fall Out 12”

Pavement - Debris Slide/Westing (by Musket and Sextant)

Radiohead - Staircase/The Daily Mail

White Stripes - Hand Springs/Multiball Magazine split 7”

R.E.M. - Fretless/In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003

Prince - Erotic City/Let’s Go Crazy

The Who - Naked Eye/Odds and Sods

Spinal Tap - Saucy Jack/Saucy Jack

Completely Conspicuous 302: Lights Out

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Ric Dube as we discuss an unlikely number one single from 1973. Listen to the episode below or download it directly (right click or "save as").

Show notes:
- Recorded at More Lost Time world HQ
- Talking about Vicki Lawrence's "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"
- We forgot to watch the movie
- Was a hit in '73, not '71
- Written by Bobby Russell
- Lawrence was already a regular on The Carol Burnett Show
- Later starred in Mama's Family and her own talk show
- Very confusing story song about murder and infidelity
- Song was offered to Cher but Sonny Bono nixed it
- Later covered by Reba McEntire
- Ric: Should've been an animated movie with animals
- Revenge and death throughout
- We're confused
- Casey Kasem would've been annoyed
- Bobby Russell had two top 40 songs of his own
- "1432 Franklin Pike Circle Hero" hit #36
- Could've used an oompah band
- Satire on suburban life
- "Saturday Morning Confusion" got up to #28 in 1971
- Merging Charlie Rich and Harry Nilsson
- Ric: This guy might be a genius
- Next up: Tony Orlando and Dawn
- To be continued
- Bonehead of the Week


Music:
Pixies - Indie Cindy
Quasi - You Can Stay But You Got to Go
The Julie Ruin - Oh Come On
Ghost Wave - Here She Comes

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The Pixies song is on the self-released EP-1.
The Quasi song is on the album Mole City on Kill Rock Stars.
The Julie Ruin song is on the album Run Fast on TJR Records.
The Ghost Wave song is on the album Ages on Flying Nun Records. All four songs can be downloaded for free at KEXP.


The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blog Clicky Clicky. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

One More Night Could Ruin Us

Sunday nights are not traditionally made for rocking, but that's exactly what happened last Sunday at TT the Bears Place when the 2nd annual Clicky Clicky Community Servings benefit show blasted through. The show drew a sparse but enthusiastic crowd; given it was a Sunday night, it was hard to expect much more. But it was a great event that raised money for a worthy cause, and it was organized by none other than the mighty Jay Breitling.

I got to TT's too early and ended up going next door to the Middle East to kill some time and hang out with some drunks at the bar. When I went back, I hob-nobbed with several friends before Kurt Heasley of Lilys came out to perform a brief but excellent acoustic set. He said he was suffering from allergies, but you couldn't tell. Heasley played several Lilys classics including "Ginger" and "Claire Hates Me" during his 20 minutes, chatting genially between songs.


A short while later, Soccer Mom provided the aural opposite of Heasley's set with a typically face-melting collection of extremely loud rock songs. The band played several songs from its forthcoming new album; I talked to guitarist Dan Parlin afterward and he said they were still working out the details, but the album should be out in 2014 and will undoubtedly be a scorcher. Major props to bassist Danielle Deveau for soldiering through the set with a cast on.

The Hush Now played its first show in a few years (and I was at the last one) and unveiled new material of its own from its forthcoming long-player. Guitarist Adam Quane sang a few of the new numbers (much to the delight of his excited family members who were in attendance), while singer-guitarist Noel Kelly led the way on some excellent slow-burning material.

The evening closed with a bravura, insane in the membrane (that's a good thing) set from Earthquake Party. Singer-guitarist Justin Lally was all over the stage, ripping off raw and overdriven riffs and solos and trading vocals with keyboardist Mallory Hestand, although you couldn't really make out the lyrics. Not that it mattered; the band emphasized the noise aspect of its noise pop sound, and that was glorious indeed. It'll be interesting to see where this band goes. They certainly have an exciting live presence.

Kudos to Senor Breitling and all the bands and folks who donated their time to make this event happen. It was a great show and will only gather steam and impact as it moves forward.

Stuck In Thee Garage #9: November 8, 2013

Last night's episode of Stuck In Thee Garage was another rollicking two hours of quality rockness on BFF.fm, with hour 2 exploring songs about places. It was also the last show in that particular time slot, Fridays at 11 Eastern/8 Pacific. Starting next Friday, the show is moving to an earlier time in the day: 3 p.m. Eastern/12 Pacific. BFF is filling up its lineup of local DJs and has someone going into that the 8 p.m. slot in their San Francisco studio, which is cool. The good news is anybody on the East Coast can now listen to the show at the end of the work week as opposed to the very end of the night.

In other good news, I've uploaded all nine shows to Mixcloud for streaming, so now you can listen to them whenever you want. Here's last night's show:

Stuck In Thee Garage 009 by Koomdogg on Mixcloud

Hour 1 

Artist - Song/Album

The Clash - Somebody Got Murdered/Sandinista!

Joe Jackson - I’m the Man/I’m the Man

Sebadoh - The Freed Pig/III

Titus Andronicus - In a Big City/Local Business

Pissed Jeans - Cathouse/Honeys

Speedy Ortiz - Hexxy/Epitonic Saki Sessions

The Henry Clay People - Working Part Time/Somewhere on the Golden Coast

Dios Mio - Lions/Tough Crowd

Lydia Loveless - Boy Crazy/Boy Crazy

Lucero - Tears Don’t Matter Much/That Much Further West

The Twilight Singers - Live With Me/A Stitch in Time EP

Flaming Lips - Unconsciously Screamin’/In a Priest-Driven Ambulance

David Bowie - (You Will) Set the World on Fire/The Next Day

Mudhoney - Douchebags on Parade/Vanishing Point

Fu Manchu - Robotic Invasion/Scion AV Presents Fu Manchu and Moab

Motorhead - The Chase is Better Than the Catch/Ace of Spades

Hour 2: Songs about places

The Beatles - Back in the USSR/The White Album

Pixies - Motorway to Roswell (live)/Live in Los Angeles, 12/22/91

R.E.M. - (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville/Rockpalast 10/2/85

The Hold Steady - Sequestered in Memphis/Stay Positive

The Walkmen - Louisiana/A Hundred Miles Off

Bon Iver - Calgary/Bon Iver

The Kinks - Oklahoma U.S.A./Muswell Hillbillies

Mike Watt - Drove Up From Pedro/Ball-Hog or Tugboat?

Lilys - The Night Sun Over San Juan/Everything Wrong is Imaginary

Ace Frehley - New York Groove/Ace Frehley

Lifter Puller - Lie Down on Lansdowne/Fiestas and Fiascos

Modest Mouse - Florida/We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Japandroids - Rockers East Vancouver/Post-Nothing

Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales of San Francisco/Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

Eagles of Death Metal - Wannabe in LA/Heart On

Thin Lizzy - Hollywood (Down on Your Luck)/Renegade